GEOGRAPHY
FACTS

Alaska

More
than half of the
coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.

Amazon

The
Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.

The Amazon River
pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one
hundred miles
at sea off the mouth of the River, one can dip fresh water out of the
ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon River is greater than
the next
eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of
all
rivers in the United States.

Antarctica

Antarctica
is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.

90%
of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents 70% of
all the
fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica
is
essentially a

desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about
two
inches. Although it's covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice),
Antarctica is
the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than
the Gobi
desert.

Brazil

Brazil
got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

Canada

Canada
has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian
word
meaning "Big Village".

Chicago

Next
to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

Detroit

Woodward
Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named
because it
was the first paved road anywhere.

Damascus,
Syria

Damascus,
Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years beforeRomewas
founded in 753 BC, making it
the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

Istanbul,
Turkey

Istanbul,
Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.

Los
Angeles

Los
Angeles' full name is El Pueblo de
Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula - and can be
abbreviated
to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

New
York City

The term "The Big
Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the
slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New
York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.

There
are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians
in New
York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in
Tel Aviv,
Israel.

Ohio

There
are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, everyone is manmade.

Pitcairn
Island

The
smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just
1.75 sq.
miles/4,53 km².

Rome

The
first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in
133
B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.

Siberia

Siberia
contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

SMOM

The
actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta (SMOM). It is located in the
city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001
has a
population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a
sovereign
entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.

Sahara
Desert

In
the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, Algeria, which did
not
receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest
place on
Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There has
been no
rainfall there for two million years.

Spain

Spain literally means "the
land of
rabbits".

St.
Paul, Minnesota

St. Paul, Minnesota, was
originally called
Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the
first business there.

Roads

Chances that a road is unpaved
in the U.S.A:
1%, in Canada: 75%

Russia

The deepest hole ever drilled
by man is the
Kola Superdeep Borehole, in Russia . It reached a depth of 12.261
meters. It
was drilled for scientific research and gave up some unexpected
discoveries,
one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen - so massive that the mud
coming
from the hole was boiling with it.

United
States

The Eisenhower interstate
system requires
that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections
are
usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Waterfalls

The water of Angel Falls (the
World's
highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times
higher
than Niagara Falls.

LOCIRAJTE SE

¤ Vi mora da ste iz Škotske ako… (UK/SCO poglavlje
CIII)

5643.
You love going to the "shows" and especially going on the waltzers.
Remember the waltzer boy shouting through the tannoy "Get on the
outside,
the best side is the left side" and "Screeeam if you wanna go
faster!!!"
5644. The BBC force you to watch England's football matches. You want
to
strangle Mark Lawrenson and Gary Lineker. You also bet on when they'll
mention
"1966" and you scrutinise Hansen to see if he says "we"
referring to England.
5645. If you have lived in Edinburgh or Glasgow, then you truly hate
the other
city to the West/East. Scotsman v Herald, Capital v Industrial Giant,
mild
& wet v cold blue skies, Old Firm v Edinburgh Derby.
5646. Your holiday abroad is ruined if you hear there is a "heatwave"
in Scotland while you're away. Even worse if the intended hot weather
abroad
doesn't materialise!
5647. Even if the meal you have just eaten in a restaurant was totally
minging
you just can't bring yourself to complain or make a scene. You feel you
have
made your point by not leaving a tip.

5648. The tip you leave depends on how much you've had to drink, no
calculator
required like the Americans.
5649. You've shared happy memories of being wee and drinking creamola
foam!
5650. You might say "dinner" instead of "lunch" and say
"tea" instead of "dinner".
5651. You might make a piece for your lunch. "Will ye be coming for
lunch,
Willie?" / "nah, ah"ve got ma piece".
5652. You don't get beaten up, you get battered! Also you dont ""kick
someones head in", you "give them a wee hidin!"
5653. You do say "Och aye" but never accompanied by "the
noo" which every American assumes is part of our everyday language.
5654. You know one of the worst crimes you can commit as a Scot is to
lose your
accent willingly or put on a fake English/American accent. Examples:
Gordon
Brown (he says "brakefast" now!)
Lulu, Sheena Easton (heckled in Glasgow until she cried!) Ronni Ancona
etc.

5655. You are in a restaurant generally you receive service from
waitresses/waiters
with a smile, smiling when they greet you, smiling when they take your
order,
smiling when you pay. This does not happen in most European countries,
especially Spain!
5656. If you're an auldjin, over 60, you have free public transport!
5657.You know cliched Scottish phrases such as "It's a braw bricht moon
licht nicht the nicht" and "there's no a moos loose about the hoose".
5658. You can order an Irn-Bru with your McDonalds meal!
5659. You have actually eaten a pizza deep-fried in batter. You know
that while the deep-fried Mars bar is a myth for tourists, deep-fried
pizza -
which English people have never heard of - exists
and is oh so good. Your pet
name for this delightful snack is "pizza crunchie".

5660. You get all confused and tongue tied at the supermarket checkout
when the
cashier says "How are you today?". Do they really want to know how
you're
feeling or are they just saying that because they have to?

5661.
You got the belt (before it was banned) at school not the cane.
5662.You call trick or treating "guising" and you actually had to
tell a joke, a poem or sing a song to earn a treat - ahh those were the
days!
5663. You know it's almost impossible to find a sandwich in Scotland
with no mayonnaise in it!